Race over Empire

“Love has forcefully captured the rough and tumble world of Washington politics. . . . Convincingly demonstrates that imperialists consciously remained silent on race when pitching annexation.” — Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era

“A brief, clearly argued, thesis-driven study. . . . [A] competent work.” — American Historical Review

“Well-written and accessible. . . . Written in an engaging, fluid prose, and punctured by useful, often lucid insights, [Love’s account] is certainly a worthwhile read.” — Itinerario

“Both interesting and well documented. . . . Presents alternative ways of looking at racism and imperialism. When one thinks of imperialism, one tends to believe that racism actually abetted it. Love takes the contrary view, but at the same time, he emphasizes that many imperialists were racists and does an excellent job of proving it.” — The Historian

“With originality, imagination, and superb research, Eric Love gives us one of the most important contributions in years to our understanding of American expansion into the Caribbean, Hawaii, and the Philippines. He rightly radically corrects the central role played by race, and finally puts Darwinism in its proper place, in a narrative that allows us to understand more clearly and accurately the crucial origins of modern U.S. foreign policy.” — Walter LaFeber, Andrew and James Tisch University Professor, Cornell University

“This is a provocative, well-written, and solidly researched reassessment of the role of race and racism in the development of late nineteenth-century U.S. imperialism. Love’s nuanced treatment of why, how, and with what consequences various white racial ideologies impeded and constrained the imperial urge is the most fully realized and most cogent treatment of this argument that I have read.” — Waldo E. Martin Jr., University of California, Berkeley